Choosing to Lead: The Race for National R&D Leadership and New Economy Jobs

R&D Breakfast e-Newsletter June 2004

Massachusetts Technology Road Map: Phase II Implementation – $40-50 Million+ R&D Center Opportunities

Technology Road Map project moves to stir up the marketplace, facilitate high impact projects In July, Mass Insight Corporation will release the Strategic Alliance Opportunities section of the Technology Road Map Report, suggesting nine potential multi-institutional strategic R&D strategic opportunities. The goal of Phase II of the Road Map project is to identify and build support for flagship R&D projects - major new or expanded centers in the $40-50 million+ range that will sustain the state's R&D leadership in key platform technologies and generate significant economic impact across regions in the state. >LEAD STORY read more

University and Industry R&D Leaders Briefed on New State Funds; Call for Time to Develop High Impact R&D Center Proposals

“The high impact strategic alliance opportunities identified in the Technology Road Map will take time to develop,” said Dr. John Armstrong, retired VP of Science and Technology for IBM and Chair of the Technology Road Map Executive Advisory Committee, at the first Choosing to Lead R&D Strategic Alliances Breakfast Series on June 4th. “We should make sure that the money is still there to make large scale projects a reality.” Mass Insight’s William Guenther, joined by state and quasi-public economic development leaders, called for collaboration across universities, research institutions and industry on high impact strategic alliances. >read more

Strategic Alliance Opportunities Link Assets to Drive Economic Impact

At the June 4th breakfast, Mass Insight introduced four of nine strategic alliance opportunities that could lead to flagship projects where Massachusetts has the potential to become a global leader. >read more

Florida Invests $300 Million Over 10 Years To Bring The Scripps Research Institute to Palm Beach County

Over 200 Participants Attended a Federal Funding Event with Senator Kennedy at Sun Microsystems
>see the photo highlights

LEAD STORY

Massachusetts Technology Road Map: Phase II Implementation – $40-50 Million+ R & D Center Opportunities

With new state technology funds available at Mass. Technology Collaborative and MassDevelopment, this summer begins the “Implementation Phase” of the Technology Road Map Project.

State agencies organize to invest The Massachusetts Department of Business & Technology, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) and MassDevelopment are working together to provide incentives for significant R&D collaborations and industry participation and disseminate the new funds made available through the economic stimulus package passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor.

Road Map project moves to stir up the marketplace, facilitate high impact projects In July, Mass Insight Corporation will release the Strategic Alliance Opportunities section of the Technology Road Map produced with Battelle, suggesting nine potential multi-institutional strategic R&D centers and five collaborative networks that would leverage Massachusetts universities, teaching hospitals, industry and federal research facilities.

Mass Insight Corporation and its partners in the Science and Technology Initiative will be using the soon-to-be-released Strategic Alliance Opportunities section of the Road Map report to “stir up the marketplace,” facilitate technology work groups and conduct feasibility analysis for a select group of major R&D centers and networks.

The goal of Phase II of the Road Map project is to identify and build support for flagship R&D projects – major new or expanded centers in the $40-50 million+ range that will sustain the state’s R&D leadership in key platform technologies and generate significant economic impact across regions in the state.

Work groups of business and university technical experts will be formed over the summer to develop the feasibility analysis, which will be reported at a series of four R&D breakfasts scheduled for the fall and early winter. The work groups will identify university/teaching hospital and industry champions for the new or expanded center, commercialization potential, and federal and private funding opportunities.

Limited funds, one time appropriation argue for coordination and time to develop high quality proposals to state agencies To make the case for new state match funds once this pool is invested, it is essential these one time funds are invested wisely in projects that bring national recognition – for technology leadership and potential job creation. While some excellent projects are “ready to go” and on track competing for NSF and other federal funding, stakeholders in business and universities will be working to organize new projects over the coming months.

Other states have moved forward with investments on large scale, but there are local models as benchmarks:

• The Broad Genomics Institute – a joint Harvard/MIT effort initiated with a challenge of $100 million from the Broad Foundation last year – marks a major university bioscience collaboration in Massachusetts.
  
• The $40 million CASA Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, an engineering research center focused on atmospheric sensing and radar for weather and bio terrorism applications, www.casa.umass.edu. A special $5 million state match last year was instrumental in gaining the federal funding.

At the Choosing to Lead R&D Strategic Alliances Breakfast Series on June 4th, Mass Insight’s William Guenther called for collaboration across universities, research institutions and industry on high impact strategic alliances.

The June 4th breakfast, hosted by Goodwin Procter and also sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and PricewaterhouseCoopers, featured an update on the Science & Technology Initiative from Guenther and John Armstrong, the chair of the Technology Road Map Study’s Executive Advisory Committee.

Both pointed to the concerted effort now underway to bring groups together to create flagship opportunities, and urged the funding agencies not to rush their investment decisions.

“The high impact strategic alliance opportunities identified in the Technology Road Map will take time to develop,” said Armstrong. “We should make sure that the money is still there to make large scale projects a reality.” He pointed to the investment made in UMass’ CASA Center as a flagship example of how these opportunities can take shape and prove important to job growth in the state.

Barbara Berke, Director of the Massachusetts Department of Business & Technology, said, “If we use state money to continue to stir the pot, we can deliver results.” She pointed to the strategic alliance opportunities identified in the Technology Roadmap as “new ways to compete,” and identified objectives and strategic imperatives for the new state funds including:

• grow the state’s regional economies
• grow our workforce to serve the needs of Massachusetts industries
• invest in “platform technologies” that promise to spawn new industries or transform current ones

MTC Executive Director Mitchell Adams explained that the $35 million of state funds managed by the John Adams Innovation Institute will focus on linking university and regional efforts to identify and establish centers of excellence, http://www.masstech.org/jaii/index.htm. Two projects currently slated for likely funding are:

• UMass partnership with Baystate Medical Center in Springfield to produce a biomedical consortium;
• UMass Lowell, University of New Hampshire, Northeastern Nanomanufacturing Center of Excellence

“Our focus is job creation – quality jobs,” said MassDevelopment’s Chief Operating Officer Nancy Howard. MassDevelopment has traditionally provided loans to new manufacturing and R&D facilities through the Emerging Technology Fund. The agency can also:

• Provide bridge financing to universities, research organizations and companies in anticipation of grant funds
• Match grants for quality alliance projects

All of the participants pointed to linkages and coordination between their agencies as a key to the success of the economic stimulus funds, the Technology Road Map, and ultimately the growth of the Massachusetts economy.

At the June 4 breakfast, Mass Insight introduced four of nine strategic alliance opportunities that could lead to flagship projects where Massachusetts has the potential to become a global leader. While these initiatives are not exhaustive, they demonstrate the range of opportunities available. Complete concept papers covering all of the alliance opportunities are available at www.massinsight.com/scitech_roadmap.

• Smart Materials Technology Incubator: Convert the mission-driven materials R&D of the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center (SSC) at Natick Laboratories and its industry and university network, most notably the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, to manufacture “smart materials” applications including on-body sensors, improved textiles and light-weight power supply sources.
• Neuroscience Systems Biology Consortium: With a global neuroscience pharmaceutical market estimated at $60 billion a number of Massachusetts institutions are pursuing interdisciplinary research needed to provide advances in neuroscience including MIT, Harvard Medical School, Partners Healthcare System, Tufts University, Boston University, Brandeis University, and UMass.
• Integrated Communications-IT Platform For Emergency Response And Command Control: The opportunity exists to create a unique Homeland Security capability by developing a model platform for integration of emergency response and command/control defense systems. As a leader in IT communications and sensor systems, Massachusetts has strong potential for industry collaborations in the development of next generation systems.
• Ocean Exploration And Management R&D Consortium: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offers a new source of money for ocean research and development. The coastal corridor from Maine to Massachusetts and Rhode Island has a leading cluster of institutions led by the Woods Hole Oceangraphic Institute and companies involved in instrument development with strength in sensors, ocean instrumentation and underwater vehicles.

Complementing the strategic alliance opportunities are five technology connecting networks - a bio-processing opportunity was highlighted - offering focused efforts to translate research into tangible economic advantage, including applied research, proof-of-concept, product development and prototyping initiatives. Click here for more information.

Several of these initiatives will be the focus of work groups and feasibility analysis.

How Other States Do It: Florida Invests $300 Million Over 10 Years To Bring The San Diego-based Scripps Research Institute To Palm Beach County

In October 2003, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) announced plans to establish a major science center in Palm Beach County, Florida, focusing on biomedical research, technology development, and drug design. The facility and initial staffing for the new center will be supported by Florida state and local government through a more than $300 million state investment.

Beginning work in 2004, TSRI expects to occupy temporary laboratory space while it constructs a state-of-the-art, 364,000-square-foot facility on 100 acres to be occupied in 2006. The synergy between Scripps biomedical research in La Jolla, California and Florida is expected to lead to major new developments to improve human health.

The facility is also expected to boost Florida's economic development in biotechnology, just as the Scripps campus in La Jolla served as the seeding ground and economic stimulus for the burgeoning bioscience industries in Southern California. Approximately 40 companies have grown out of Scripps research and technology developments. TSRI will also collaborate with and support local industry and businesses, the university system, and school districts in the region.

Federal Funding Event with Senator Kennedy at Sun Microsystems in Burlington

Over 200 participants gathered on the campus of host Sun Microsystems and heard Senator Edward M. Kennedy emphasize the need to organize ourselves and increase funding for higher education to compete with other states.

Updated Research Center Directory To Be Released This Summer

An updated version of the Directory of Massachusetts University and Nonprofit Research Centers will also be released in July, highlighting existing and new research centers conducting cutting edge work and building the foundation for the next generation technology-based economy. The first version of the Directory was published to widespread support at a federal research funding event with Senator Kennedy and Congressmen Capuano and Tierney, held at Sun Microsystems in February.

This valuable resource will continue to be an online searchable document that will be updated regularly, serving as an important tool to encourage strategic alliances. As an economic development instrument, the Directory will prove critical in marketing and promoting the breadth and depth of our state’s research strengths on a national and global basis. The directory is available at www.massinsight.com.

If you have new information to be included in the directory, please contact Joanna Manikas at Mass Insight at jmanikas@massinsight.com.

Choosing to Lead Breakfast Series

Be sure to join us for the next Choosing to Lead breakfasts to be held in September, October and November 2004. Watch your mail for more information or contact insight@massinsight.com.

R&D Breakfast Series Sponsors:

About the Initiative

Two years ago, in the midst of an economic downturn, a group of industry, teaching hospital, and university leaders organized by Mass Insight at the Boston Foundation met to discuss how to cooperate to bring business to Massachusetts. That group, and the Science & Technology Initiative that resulted, supported the passage of the economic stimulus package now poised to fuel job growth through strategic projects joining industry, universities and teaching hospitals. In parallel, the group organized the Technology Road Map study.

The Science & Technology Initiative's mission is to create a state policy to facilitate and support major science and technology education and research initiatives that improve Massachusetts' competitive position and enhance its economic strength. For more information on the Initiative, click here.

“Strategic alliances are new ways to compete,” said Barbara Berke, Director of the Massachusetts Department of Business & Technology.

"The nature of technology today is interdisciplinary," said Mitch Adams, MTC Executive Director.

Josef von Rickenbach, Chairman & CEO, PAREXEL and Senator Kennedy

Congressman John Tierney (MA 6th District)

Participants included Senator Kennedy, Congressman John Tierney, Barbara Berke, Director of the Mass. Department of Business & Technology, Paul Grogan, President of the Boston Foundation and Jack Wilson, President of UMass

Dr. William Terry, Vice Chair of the Technology Road Map Executive Advisory Committee

John Armstrong, Ph.D., Chair of the
Technology Road Map Executive Advisory Committee

Mark Canepa, Sun Microsystems; Congressman John Tierney; Bill Guenther, Mass Insight Corporation

©2004 Mass Insight Corporation, 18 Tremont Street, Suite 930, Boston, MA 02108. Mass Insight Corporation organizes leadership groups and facilitates public-private initiatives to improve state performance on issues that have a significant economic impact on Massachusetts. To be removed from this distribution list, please send an email to insight@massinsight.com.